I don't know why, but I have always really struggled with the writing component in TOG. This is my 4th year using it and I have never successfully used the writing aspect. I have 5 boys in school (6th is a girl who is 2) 5th, 3rd, 2nd,1st and preschool. I thought I would combine levels so it wouldn't be too much, but my children are NOWHERE near the correct level. My 1st grader can barely write his letters and cannot "read" yet, my 2nd grader can't read, my 3rd grader has finally taken off with reading, but can't spell worth anything. From watching him do his copywork, it seems like it would be painful for him to say write a play (week 21)! I feel like I am failing!!!! In week 20 for my level 1 (say my 1st and 2nd graders) they are supposed to write a descriptive paragraph. I have to pull teeth to get them to copy a longer sentence, let alone "write" a paragraph??? What am I doing wrong??? HELP!

Hi there!
Basics are paramount in composition. If the student cannot write an adequate sentence, he is highly unlikely to write an adequate paragraph. If he can't write an adequate paragraph, he is highly unlikely to write an adequate play or essay.

So, my suggestion to you is to back up with all of your kids. Typically, we have found that Tapestry users who, week by week work on composition skills, are able to catch up within one or two school years.

So, for the 1st and 2nd graders...don't worry about the paragraph. Stick to letting them (yes, both of them) write (or dictate might be better for now) captions for pictures or write sentences.

Please don't feel like a failure. When we first began Tapestry, we jumped right into the writing assignments, and I was absolutely horrified at the paragraphs that my 9th and 7th graders produced. Oh my gracious.

Without their knowledge, I backed my 9th grader up to level 5 (except for the state notebook project) and my 7th grader back to level 3. The next school year we jumped up two levels. The third school year, they were on target for the correct level. It all ended up fine in the end and they were able to write well for college assignments.

Blessings,

So do you think I should start in the middle of the year now, or wait until next year? Or start at the beginning (except it won't go with what we are studying).........??

Thanks so much, Deb

Deb,

Perhaps you could "start at the beginning" in the sense that you teach all your dc about sentence construction. Use the ideas from Writing Aids (if you have it). Have them draw a picture related to the current week's reading and caption it with a sentence.

As your dc become proficient at sentence writing, move them up to paragraph writing (the younger ones may need to stay at the sentence writing level). Teach them that genre and assign them a paragraph a week - look at the Themes or People for ideas. Do this for the rest of the school year.

Next school year, look at where the dc are. Can they easily write paragraphs yet? If not, start with Level 3 and follow the assignments as written. At the end of the first unit, any dc who are whizzes at paragraph writing can move up to Level 4 for the second unit. The writing component in Tapestry is very flexible in this way.

I hope these ideas help. You are not alone! I followed this plan with my dc, and my older three are now competent writers.

Blessings,